Of The Sheriff, The Mayor and The Fireworks
by rawinkqueen
Summary: Emma had to work on New Year's Eve, much to her annoyance. But it turned out the late night patrol wasn't half bad at all when things escalated pretty fast and turned into something she had never thought would happen. Swan Queen New Year fluff.


**This was supposed to be posted on New Year's Eve but the first one I wrote turned out ridiculously depressing; so depressing that I had to bang my head on the wall a few times before rewriting the whole thing again and voila! This happened. Pardon all mistakes and I hope you guys enjoy it. Happy New Year. Cheers.  
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* * *

Being the Sheriff has never been the easiest job Emma Swan ever landed on in her entire life, but it sure is her favorite. For one, she gets to hang around at the station on a slow day (which is almost every day) and cruising around town in her patrol car which is one of her favorite things to do. However, it is all fun and games for her except when she actually has to work on a Tuesday night, which happens to be the New Year's Eve.

Emma loves the New Year's Eve. She digs the idea of lazing around at home watching The Walking Dead on TiVo while eating Chinese takeout for dinner. The most fun part is when it comes to the final moment of the end of year countdown; she would start drinking shots from the count of ten, and never stop until she pass out and regret it for the whole year and actually do it again the very next year. She would never admit this to anyone but one time, she woke up with a fake mustache and a white beard on her face and until this day, what went on that night is still a mystery to her.

But this year everything is entirely different. Her life has taken a dramatic turn since the day Henry appeared on her doorstep on her 28th birthday, bringing her to Storybrooke, where her family has been. This would be her second year in town, and for the first time in her entire life, she is going to step into the New Year with her newly-found family. It's been a blessing to her since everyone is such an angel. Well, most of them are, while some are just a bunch of pain in the ass. But Emma is thankful with how her life is winding up, nonetheless.

Her life is practically amazing even though at some point she feels like her life is a clash between Lifetime and Disney movies. Her parents are _literally_ Snow White and Prince Charming. Although she was all about Cinderella growing up, but still, being the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming is the closest thing she gets to her most bizarre childhood dream that actually came true.

Henry on the other hand is the apple of her eyes. He is the smartest little boy Emma has ever met and even though it sounds rather self-absorbed, there has been numerous times where she looks at Henry and begins giving herself a mental high-five and a pat on the back for doing a splendid job in the DNA department. Although, of course, proper credits goes to Regina as well for doing one hell of a job at raising her little boy for the past decade and not turn him into a self-harming emo pre-teen. Emma made a mental note to write that on the Mayor's Mother's Day card next year.

Yes, the Sheriff and the Mayor have somehow formed an unspoken bond with each other since they came back from Neverland. The funny thing about the bond is that neither of the party is aware of it and even if they do, they would never care to admit it to themselves, let alone to one another. Anyhow, they had managed to put a stop on the continuous attempts to get rid of each other from Henry's life as they had come to a mutual agreement that Henry needs both of his mothers in his life and that case has been closed and archived.

The relationship between Snow White and her step-mother is unfortunately still a long, ever so complicated story to tell and luckily, this story doesn't really cover that part, so we're all good, for now.

Anyway, it is the New Year's Eve and Emma had just told her mother, Mary Margaret, or Snow White, if you want to go on that path (whichever flips your pancake, folks), that she needs to be on patrol for the night, since the citizen of Storybrooke really enjoy New Year's party and stuff rather than watching some gruesome actions of zombies being shot/shredded/beheaded/axed on television at home which, by the way, what Emma fails to understand – perhaps they have accustomed to vast celebrations and grand balls back in their land and now that they've finally obtained their memories back after over 30 years living under a curse, the need to celebrate kicks in hard – and that could really be a risk since she knows all too well what party and alcohol could do to people.

This is indeed one of the downsides of being the only one working under the law enforcement department in the small town – there is nobody else Emma could boss around while she enjoys delicious champagne at home with her charming (pun intended) family on New Year's Eve.

So, back to the story with Mary Margaret/Snow White, her reaction to her daughter's news went down a little bit too dramatic for Emma's liking. It did involve an extensive amount of groveling, eye-rolling, tears-faking, more eye-rolling, mother-father strategy planning, face-palming, father-daughter talk, poker facing, mother-daughter talk, mental suicide, and ultimately, a two-hour talk on how families are supposed to find one another which has nothing to do with the topic, much to Emma's annoyance, before they came to the final phase: acceptance.

The Charmings sent their only daughter to the door as she was heading out to work, waving her off, feeling proud of the sacrifice they've made for the sake of Storybrooke's peace. As soon as Emma got inside the car, she carved one thing deep into her mind.

_Get a new home_.

Emma stays at the Sheriff station for two hours doing these in exact order: eating the dinner that her mother packed for her, playing paper football by herself, lying on the bed inside the cell for half an hour playing Candy Crush on her phone, eating her dessert, impersonating every single character from Star Wars, and finally, thinking about the Mayor.

After the two boring hours at the station plus extra twenty minutes of dreaming about her son's other mother, Emma drags herself into the cruiser and starts with her patrol. It is only half past ten and she is already yawning, hoping the time would magically fast forward to midnight so she would be in the comfort of her own bed and continue with her dream.

Emma doesn't have a specific reason as to why she likes to think about the Mayor. She really doesn't, except that she simply likes the feeling it brings. Sometimes she would make up scenarios in her head and think about how the brunette would talk with that alluring body language and sexy voice of hers and sometimes she simply recall about the moments she had spent with that woman and just repeat that image in her head over and over again.

She has been keeping the secret about this particular favorite pastime activity that doesn't involve zombies to herself because it might make her sound like a creepy stalker and being Emma Swan, the Sheriff of Storybrooke a.k.a _The_ Savior, she has quite a reputation to uphold. Besides, she really doesn't want to have a restraining order filed against her by the Mayor because that would really taint her image especially to the eyes of her son, Henry.

Unable to stand the boredom any longer, Emma turns on the radio in her car, hoping some music could make the boring night somewhat bearable. Her lips curved into a pleasing smile when the sound of 'Wake Me Up' by Avicii blares through the stereo. That song is her jam. She loves the way the catchy beat, as though pumping through her veins, makes her bob her head automatically and taps her fingers on the steering wheel, matching the beat of the music.

Lost in her own world, Emma cruises down the Franklin Street like she owns the town. She is too busy dancing in her seat and singing along to her favorite song to see the woman who is about to cross the road. By the time she realizes this, the woman is already in the middle of the road, leaving her no choice but to step on the brake paddle abruptly, producing a loud screeching sound as her car skids slightly before finally coming to a halt.

"What the hell?!" she screams as she recovers from the shock. She squints in search of the woman through the dim lights of the street and frowns when she sees the woman is still standing in the middle of the road. She angrily steps outside of the car and approaches the woman. Through the darkness, she could see that the woman is wearing a long black overcoat and is carrying a large basket in her hand. Emma furrows her brows as the familiarity of this woman's frame begins to dawn on her when she gets closer. As soon as the woman steps into the light, Emma recognizes the face instantly, making her gape in confusion. "Regina?"

"Were you trying to kill me?!" the woman snarls sharply at the Sheriff who is blinking blankly at her.

"Were you trying to get killed? What the hell were you doing in the middle of the road?!" Emma retorts back. She is still in shock, can't believe of the fact that she almost ran the Mayor over with a car, a Sheriff's car at that.

"I was crossing the road, Sheriff Swan. If you happened to use your eyes properly in the first place, you would've seen me!"

"How on earth could I possibly see you, you're wearing all black, for god's sake!"

"My choice of clothing has nothing to do with any of this, Miss Swan."

"Of course it has! That, and your lack of competence in crossing the road."

"Excuse me?" The Mayor snaps sharply. Her eyes widens in infuriation.

"Do I need to demonstrate the road safety regulations to you, Madame Mayor?"

"So it is _my_ fault that you almost ran me over with _your_ car?" Regina challenges as she steps closer toward the Sheriff.

"It is indeed _your_ fault for crossing the road without looking," Emma says unwavering. Her breath coming out in puffs as she blows her blonde hair out of her face, looking straight into the Mayor's eyes.

Regina narrows her eyes as annoyance starts creeping up on her rapidly. The Sheriff raises her brows victoriously as if mocking the Mayor for running out of quips, ultimately losing this tongue battle, so to speak.

"You're wasting my time, Sheriff Swan." Regina simply rolls her eyes and steps away from the Sheriff.

"Wait, what are you doing out here so late anyway?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't seem to recall you being my mother," Regina quips sardonically. She gives the blonde a sideways glance before walking toward the Town Hall building, leaving the blonde behind in the cold.

"Regina, wait!" The Sheriff calls out but the Mayor completely ignores her. Groaning in frustration, Emma quickly slides inside the car, and moves to park it in front of the Town Hall before running after the Mayor.

Emma follows Regina inside the building and inside the Mayor's office. Regina sets the basket she's carrying on the round table in her office and rolls her eyes when she notices Emma's presence.

"Do you need anything else, Miss Swan?" she asks in a bored tone, folding her arms as she stares at the blonde pointedly.

Laying her eyes inside the basket on the table, Emma's eyes bulge at the sight of the champagne bottle that sits along with a couple of food containers, a flask and a bowl of fruits. The only thing that seems to be missing is a picnic blanket, and Yogi Bear.

"Whoa, are you having a picnic in here or something?" she laughs, and her face drops when she notices the look on Regina's face. "Seriously? You brought food from home all the way here to eat in your office?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all." Emma smiles slyly. She knows her presence is clearly unwanted by the brunette but she is craving for some fun and it has been a while since she had engaged in a fun verbal battle with the Mayor. Getting on her nerves is also one of Emma's favorite things to do. So when she sees an opportunity, she decides to grab it. Above all else, she just wants to spend time with the Mayor but there is no way she would ever admit that. "May I join you?" she requests, grinning widely at the brunette.

Regina pulls her head back and shots her eyebrows up in amusement of the blonde's boldness. "Do I look like I need your company?"

"I imagine you do," Emma says, unceremoniously taking a seat on the sofa, much to the Mayor's annoyance.

"Miss Swan, may I remind you—" Regina begins to bark but Emma interrupts her.

"Come on, Regina. Why can't we just sit and have a drink together?"

"Why exactly should we do that?"

"Because… I'm Sheriff and you're…Mayor?" Emma stammers and grins shrewdly even when she knows she isn't making any sense. Her smile widens when the Mayor's face eventually softens, heaving a long sigh of defeat.

"You have an awfully nasty habit of poking your nose into other people's lives, do you know that?" Regina remarks as she takes a seat from across the blonde on the sofa.

"Not really," Emma replies with a shrug. Regina simply rolls her eyes. "What's the deal with all these food anyway? Why don't you just eat at home? Where's Henry?"

Regina doesn't answer Emma's series of questions right away. She begins taking the food containers out of the basket and carefully lays them on the table. "He's with Neal, and I have some work to finish."

"Work? That can't wait after dinner?" Emma rubs the back of her neck and ignores Regina's glaring eyes.

Regina lets out a sharp exhale through her nose and Emma takes that as a cue to not push another button or the former Evil Queen would condemn her into eternal damnation. This is why she loves being around this brunette woman. She loves the way she challenges her in a way that nobody ever has and she finds it oddly interesting.

Emma sits quietly and watches Regina unpack her dinner, observing every move of the brunette so she could replay it later in her mind. She nonchalantly averts her eyes when the Mayor looks up her way and when she's no longer looking, Emma settles back into her observation mode. She notices how prim and proper Regina is no matter what she does which is no surprise to her considering how she used to be a Queen. She likes how classy Regina looks in that black turtleneck but she finds it to be a pity that it's hiding Regina's beautiful neck.

That is the exact moment when Emma starts to realize how creepy she is being. She shakes her head frantically, pushing the elaborated thoughts to the back of her mind, causing the brunette to shift her attention on her.

"Welcome back to Earth, Miss Swan," Regina says with a smirk. Emma bites the insides of her cheeks, trying to hide her blush. Clearly the Mayor had noticed about her little reverie and possibly had caught her staring.

"Why do you always call me that?" Emma says, purposely trying to divert her mind away from her embarrassment.

"What, Miss Swan?" Regina asks and Emma nods once. "I believe that _is_ your name." Regina raises an eyebrow at the blonde before starting to pour the apple juice from the flask into two glasses in front of her.

"No, I mean, what's with the formalities? There's only the two of us here and it's not even working hours."

"Why should it matter?" Regina says, placing one of the glasses in front of the Sheriff.

"I don't know." Emma shrugs. "I guess I kinda miss hearing you call me Emma," she says under her breath and the room falls into a heavy silence. Regina's motion halts momentarily as she is taken aback by Emma's quiet admission, but she recovers from it quickly.

"I will call you whatever I want, Miss Swan," Regina says coolly. She glances at the blonde through the corners of her eyes and sees a smile dancing on Emma's lips.

"But we share a son!" Emma argues. "We even made _magic_ together."

"So?"

"So, those are reason enough for us to get rid of the formalities. I mean, I don't know about you, but I think it's just ridiculous not to be on a first name basis with someone you've moved planets with."

Regina's chuckle leaks out before she could stop it. She couldn't deny that that was by far the most amazing thing she had ever conjured in her entire life. She had never thought that their combined magic could transcend far beyond her own ability considering the blonde hardly even aware of the magic flowing in her blood before. Emma is a decent student; she's willing to give her at least that.

Emma looks like she had just won an Olympic gold medal for making Regina laugh. She's grinning from ear to ear and her cheeks are starting to hurt. She gives herself a hypothetical self-five and sips on her drink victoriously.

"I will give it a thought," Regina says. She purposely leave her smile hanging on her lips as she takes a portion of the lasagna into a plate before handing it to Emma and then takes one for herself.

"You did call me 'Emma' quite a number of times before. You do realize that, right?"

"Oh really? Perhaps I was drunk at the time," Regina teases, glancing sideways at the blonde as she chews on her lasagna.

"Then I'd be more than happy to make you drunk again."

Regina almost chokes on her food as Emma's words approaches her ears. She might be wrong, but it seems like the blonde is _flirting_ with her. She quickly washes her food down with her drink and decides to dismiss the thought together with the topic.

The two women eat in silence for a brief moment before Emma hums in sheer delight with her mouth full. "This is so good!" she moans before stuffing more of the lasagna into her mouth.

"It's actually better if you _chew, _Miss Swan." Regina glares at the blonde, amused by her eagerness. She would be lying if she says that seeing Emma enjoying her cooking isn't making her heart swell with pride. Regina finds herself wondering when all of this happened. She remember feeling viciously threatened by this woman who came into her and his son's life, ruining every single thing that she had worked so hard for, making all her sacrifices and efforts die in vain and yet here they are now, moving past the mortal enmity for the sake of a little boy who connects them together. He knows her old self would rather die a slow and painful death rather than walking down this path she's on now. In spite of that, she is truly grateful for every single thing that happened that brought her into this life.

The Mayor's lips curved into a smile when she sees the Sheriff's empty plate. Once again the surge of satisfaction washes over her without her being able to explain why.

"I always liked your lasagna," Emma says suddenly, making Regina blush profusely. She remember that time she brought her lasagna over to Granny's for the welcome-home party they threw for Mary Margaret and Emma a while ago, but she didn't think that the blonde actually remembers it. "The red pepper flakes is a touch of genius. It really brings out the taste."

"Yes, I figured that out," Regina says, offering a genuine smile at the blonde. This is slowly getting out of Regina's hands. She could feel the invisible walls in between them are beginning to melt and what's crazy about that is the fact that she doesn't seem to mind it at all.

Soon, they move on to the dessert which is a homemade chocolate croissant that almost brought Emma to tears. Regina laughs quietly when the blonde closes her eyes as soon as she bites into the croissant, letting the orgasmic feeling wash over her. Emma then jokes about how Regina should at least consider signing up for the next season of Iron Chef, which makes the Mayor laugh even more.

Noticing the time, Regina quickly finishes off the last bite of her croissant and wipes her mouth with a napkin before walking toward the window. Emma's eyes follow the brunette across the room and gazes at her quizzically. As if reading Emma's mind, Regina turns and face the blonde, pointing toward the window.

"It's almost 12," she says. "The firework show is about to start."

Hearing this, Emma places her unfinished croissant on her plate and throws herself from the couch before heading for the light switch on the wall. She flicks the switch and dimness falls in between them. She then pulls the couch she was sitting on, rearranging it so it is directly facing the window. Regina opens her mouth to protest but Emma quickly cuts her off. "Don't worry. I'll move it back when the show's over."

Regina then gives the blonde a light nod and picks up the champagne bottle and two glass flutes in her hands, handing one to the latter. She pops the cork out of the champagne bottle and pours the liquid generously into their glasses. The two women then settle on the sofa, sitting cross-legged next to one another.

Emma holds out her right arm, looking at the watch on her wrist. She begins whispering the countdown from ten, and right the moment she reaches one, a thunderous sound claps from a distance; the fireworks erupt, coloring the dark midnight sky with beautiful shades of red, green and yellow. A large smile adorns their faces, never blinking as they look up to the beautiful sky through the window.

"Happy New Year, Regina," Emma whispers and the brunette turns to face her, flashing her most genuine smile.

"Happy New Year, Emma."

They clink their glasses together – the sound, like the lightest of bells, echoes through the room. Emma almost drools when she take in the smell of the liquid in the flute, letting the intoxicating aroma invade her nostrils before taking a sip of the prestigious champagne.

"This is Krug Grande Cuvée," Regina says, nodding at the glass in her hand. "One of the finest champagne I've ever tasted. It's been my favorite since the '80s."

"God," Emma breathed dramatically, once again experiencing a food-orgasmic moment. "I can't believe I almost let you enjoy this alone."

Regina lets out a pleasant chuckle and leans her side against the armrest. "I still can't believe you almost ran me over with your car."

This time, it's Emma's turn to burst into a full belly laugh. "That would've been a pity," she says, wiping the tear in the corner of her eye that resulted from the laughter. "I might've killed this little perfection."

"I have no other choice but to kill you too then."

Emma laughs once again and nods in agreement. "Yeah, I deserve at least that."

The two women settle into a pleasant silence, trying their best to preserve the perfection of the moment for as long as they could. The fireworks still continue lighting up the sky, illuminating their faces with beautiful colors.

"I wish Henry's here to see this right now," Regina whispers quietly, shifting in her seat slightly.

"Yeah, that would've been perfect."

* * *

The fireworks show ended about ten minutes ago, but neither woman had moved from their sitting position. Their shoes were kicked off on the floor and their backs are leaning against the either sides of the armrests of the sofa. Regina has her feet tucked courteously to the side while Emma hugs her knees to her chest. The comfort is too great; neither of them wants it to end. The champagne glass are still clawed in their hands and they would sip on it every once in a while. Emma is doing what she does best: stealing glances at the Mayor, and the Mayor is also doing what she does best: pretending not to notice it.

"Let's play a game," Emma says, breaking the comfortable silence that's beginning to turn into an awkward one. Regina darts her eyes on her, gesturing her to continue. "It's called 'Nobody Knows'. It's simple, really. We take turn saying things that nobody knows about us before." Regina seems appalled by the idea, so Emma quickly adds, "They don't have to be private ones. Some random useless information would do."

"What exactly are you planning to achieve from this?"

"Uh, fun?"

"Snooping into other people's life is your idea of _fun_?" Regina scoffed. That doesn't seem so shocking to her.

"Yeah, sort of. Come on, it really _is_ fun." Emma nudges the older woman's hand playfully. "I'll go first." Regina rolls her eyes at Emma's persistence. The blonde woman taps her chin gingerly with her finger, giving it a deep thought before blurting out a fact about herself. "When I was a kid, I used to feed bread crumbs to the ants at the park."

That piece of information somehow makes Regina smile. She thinks that's too adorable, but she doesn't say it out loud.

"Your move," the blonde says, looking at the brunette in anticipation.

Letting out a small sigh, Regina begins raiding her mind for ideas, finally decides to humor the blonde. She hums briefly and finally comes up with, "I really love black."

Emma laughs out loud and it occurred to her that she's going to need a better game if she ever wants to find out more about this closed-off woman. Apparently this game is the only one she could think of at that very moment that doesn't involve getting the former Queen drunken up her regal ass to make her talk. So Emma figures this will do for now.

"That's a start," she says, nodding in approval though she's hoping for something that's less obvious. Taking her turn now, Emma ponders on it briefly and says, "I have never been to Disneyland my entire life."

"Me neither," Regina says with a shrug. Emma nodded at the brunette, indicating that it is her turn but she simply shoots Emma a look. "What? It's _your_ move."

"But I just told you about Disneyland!" Emma argues.

"And I just told you I've never been there either. So now it's your move again."

"That's unfair!" Emma throws her hand up in protest.

The older woman flashes her infamous smirk and sips on her champagne calmly. When did Regina ever play by Emma's rules anyway? "Well?" Regina says, "Do you want to keep playing? We don't have all night, dear."

"All right, fine." Emma chuckles briefly, shaking her head at the Mayor's deviousness. "I bailed on a date once because he's disgusting and rude."

"In the middle of the date?" Regina asks in disbelief and Emma nods. "Discreetly or you just stormed off?"

"I went to the ladies and never came back." Regina snickers as she tries to picture the scene in her head. "I kinda feel bad when I think about it, but it's a _really_ bad date. If I have to do it again, I would do the exact same thing."

"That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea." Emma frowns as she recalls the worst date of her life. It's bad enough that the man has a terrible eating manners; he even struck her as sexist. She couldn't stand being near him for even another second that she opted to run away without looking back before she start pounding his face with a chair. A heavy sigh escapes Emma's mouth and she pushes the memories to the back of her mind and once again focuses on the woman before her. "Okay, Madame Mayor, your move. And don't even think of repeating my words," she says, playfully darkens her voice as a warning.

Regina smiles casually, and this time, she thinks of something that is actually of value. After a moment of careful consideration, she clears her throat and says, "I almost set my house on fire the first time I tried to figure out how the gas stove works."

Emma throws her head back as she cracks up into a roaring laughter. She could feel the Mayor smiling sheepishly, flushed by her own confession but mask it away with a small smile. "God, I would definitely pay big money just to see that."

"Thought you'd appreciate it," Regina says and reaches for the champagne bottle to pour more of that delightful liquid into their glasses.

When Emma's laughter subsides, Regina gives her a long hard look; her trains of thoughts are so rapid that she could hardly catch up on any of them. Noticing this, Emma clears her throat and shifts in her seat slightly. She returns the gaze and carves a small sideways smile on her lips. "A penny for your thoughts, your Majesty?"

"Do you have any regrets, Emma?" Regina asks so quietly that Emma almost didn't hear her. She somehow caught on her words and can't help the growing smile on her face hearing the Mayor use her first name for the second time that night.

"Well, I made thousands of mistakes in my life, but regret; I only had one," she says. "I regret giving up Henry right the second they took him out of the room. There hadn't been a day that went by I didn't wish I could have him back." Silence falls upon them, the two women momentarily lost in their own thoughts. "I even named him in my head."

"What did you name him?"

"Bryan," Emma says with a timid smile.

"Bryan," Regina echoes, and repeats it a few times more in her head. "That gives a whole different feel to him."

"Yeah," Emma laughs. "Henry fits him perfectly."

"It does, doesn't it?"

Emma nods in agreement. "What about you?" the blonde returns the question after a moment of silence.

"Sorry?"

"Do you have any regrets?"

"Tons," Regina says, smiling ruefully. The sadness in her eyes is somewhat palpable, sending jolts of inexplicable feelings rippling at the pit of Emma's stomach. "But then again, none of these would've happened if things didn't go the way it went," she continues. "If I didn't enact the curse, your parents wouldn't have sent you here. And if you weren't sent here, you wouldn't have had Henry. I can't, and don't want to imagine a life without him. It's a rather conflicting feeling; I don't know how to explain it."

"I get what you mean, Regina. Henry's the best thing that ever happened to me too. If he didn't come and find me, I just— I can't, and don't want to imagine that life either."

"Henry, he's—" Regina pauses briefly and smiles when her son's face flashes before her eyes. "He's so intoxicatingly addictive. I can't stop looking at him. All my worries would magically flee when I look at him. It gets lonely without him around."

"Is that why you came here tonight?"

Regina gives a small nod. "It's a big house. The stillness can be hauntingly disturbing sometimes," she tells her.

"You don't have to be alone, you know?" Emma hears her own heart starts to pound faster than necessary in her chest. She figures it must be the champagne that's starting to take a toll on her mind, making her feel giddy and lightheaded. She is aware of the possible consequences of her next words but she pushes the nagging feeling aside and blurts it out anyway. "I'd be happy just to be around you, any time of the day, with or without Henry."

As if petrified, Regina stares at Emma intently. She replays Emma's words in her mind multiple times; processing it, analyzing it, in case she heard it wrong. She _thinks_ she heard it wrong. To her, it's just not possible. No sane person would want to be around someone who had tried to inflict endless of sufferings to them and their family, time and time again.

"But why?" Regina asks, more to herself than Emma.

"It makes me happy," Emma says. "_You_ make me happy." Her face is starting to blush profusely, making her feel like jumping into a rabbit hole, running straight into the Black Forest in Wonderland and never come back. Her little secret is now out of the bag. Emma doesn't know how to feel about this. Part of her is relief, but another part of her is just terrified.

Regina is completely baffled by the newly attained information. Never once she had ever thought she could have such effect on the Sheriff, the birthmother of her child, _The Savior_. It confuses her to no end as to why and how her presence could bring Emma happiness as she had claimed. Is Emma being serious or she's simply trying to please her? But why? Why would Emma, of all people, want to please her? These endless questions are floating around in her mind, leaving her dazed and bewildered.

"Emma—"

"I'm sorry," Emma blurts out swiftly, cutting Regina off. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Regina shakes her head in response. "No," she whispers. "I'm not upset."

"You look pretty upset," Emma says quietly.

"No, I'm just—" Regina keeps thinking the rest of her sentence would arise from her vocal cords, but nothing comes out, leaving her words die in the air. Instead, she takes a deep breath and gives Emma a hard look, as if searching for something in her eyes; something that's been absent from her life in a very long time. "Emma," she calls softly. The said woman answers her with her eyes. "How am I making you happy?"

Emma finds herself being put in a very compromising position. She feels like being ripped down bare to her very last skin. She's not good at this. She's never good at expressing her feelings. She's never good at _having_ feelings. But Regina is making her feel all sorts of feelings she has never felt before. She can't find the answer to Regina's question because she doesn't know where it all comes from. The brunette is waiting for her answer and she has to come up with one, whether she likes it or not. It was her who brought it up in the first place; she knows she _has_ to clarify it.

"I, uh—" she begins, clearing her throat briefly. "I'm not entirely sure. Honestly, I'm not even sure what it is. But for some reason, just the thought of you makes me feel…weird. A good kind of weird. Like, when Henry stays at my house, I'd rather have you pick him up than me sending him to your house because if _you_ come and pick him up, it'd be guaranteed that I get to see you, and that makes me happy. I don't know, Regina. I don't know where that came from. I'm still trying to figure that out myself."

"How long have you been feeling like this?" Regina asks.

"A while." Emma wraps her arms around her knees, pulling it impossibly close to her chest as though letting it go would break her down, crumbled to the ground into pieces. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. She is certain that if she doesn't calm down anytime soon, she'd go straight into a cardiac arrest. "Ready to kick me out yet?" Emma purposely jokes, trying to lighten up the mood and calm her own heart.

Regina's smile resurfaces. She shakes her head and says, "No, not really. It's quite the opposite, actually."

Emma shoots her eyebrows up, blinking blankly at the brunette. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Letting out a long sigh, Regina rubs her temples with her fingers. Emma furrows her brows at the seemingly frustrated woman. "I never doubted your denseness, Miss Swan, but I didn't think you're actually _this_ slow."

Confused and baffled by the sudden change of mood, Emma is starting to get a little bit defensive over the insult that was thrown her way. "I don't see what you're getting at, Regina."

"Case in point," Regina says wryly, making the blonde even more perplexed.

Emma opens her mouth to rebut but her attempt falls short as Regina lunges forward, claiming Emma's lips in between hers. The kiss shocks her out of her wits, almost taking her breath away but at the same time it feels so right. Her heart almost exploded by all the feelings that's flowing inside of her. She feels like a series of explosions went off deep within her.

_Fireworks_. She's seeing fireworks through her lidded eyes. Regina's soft lips are still firmly pressed against hers, her hand cradling the side of her face. Slowly, she begins to feel the brunette pulling away and soon their lips parted, and Emma realizes that she's been holding her breath the entire time. Their foreheads are pressed against one another and Emma can feel Regina's hot breath trickling on her face, sending another jolt of shivers down her spine. When she opens her eyes, she sees the brunette's dark orbs piercing into her very soul.

"What was that for?" Emma breathes. She feels a terrible sense of loss when Regina pulls away, putting a distance in between them.

"I figured that would help you sort it out," Regina says softly. Her own mind is currently a hot quivering mess, but she is clear of one thing. "I was right."

"About what?"

"Your feelings."

"How do you know?"

"Because I feel the same way." Regina smiles brilliantly, feeling the hotness on face intensified. "Now, your move, Miss Swan."

Emma wastes no time in claiming Regina's lips once again, cupping her face in both of her hands. Everything around her starts to fall into place. Nothing else seems to matter because deep in her heart, she's finally ready to accept that Regina is always going to have a bigger part in her life. She's ready to open up her mind and her heart to whatever possibilities and obstacles life is going to throw her way in this New Year because she has grown into believing in something her parents and her son had thought her over the year: true love always wins.

-The End-


End file.
